Delay over decision on A&E criticised by director
A hospital director says it "beggars belief" that it will be another six months before Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust can look again at where its new emergency care unit should be sited.
Brian Newman, a non-executive director, told a trust board meeting in Newtown that he is highly critical of the delay.
The Future Fit programme board, charged with leading a shake-up of health services in Shropshire, is spending an estimated £3 million on the way forward after coming to the conclusion the county could not continue with two A&E departments.
But, after ruling out building a new £500 million facility on greenfield land because it was too expensive, the board ultimately could not decide whether the single A&E should be in Telford or Shrewsbury.
At the meeting on Thursday members were told that work would get underway shortly on drawing up the business plans for siting the emergency care centre at both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
The trust will also look at urban urgent care centres and press its partners to do the same for the proposed rural urgent care centres.
Chief executive Simon Wright said it will mean that all the preparatory work will have been done before another round of public consultation begins in the summer to decide whether emergency care should be at Shrewsbury or Telford.
But Mr Newman said: "What on earth has Future Fit been doing for the last two years.
"It beggars belief that all this work has gone on and money spent and now we have to wait another six months.
"I find it absolutely amazing that no decision has yet been made."
